Buksh Foundation has collaborated with Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the banner of Punjab’s Off-grid Energy Access Initiative. A consultative workshop was recently held to generate and discuss ideas that could help in ensuring energy access in Punjab. Ensuring energy supply to the off grid areas is essential for overall economic development of the Country and uplift of the general living standards.
The workshop also hosted energy consultants and stake holders from the public and private sector, including; Mr. Khalid Ranjha – Additional Secretary for Energy in the Government of Punjab, Jiwan Acharya – Senior Climate Change Specialist at ADB, Salman Aizad from Punjab Power Development Board, Qamar Uddin – Program Director at Winrock International, Najam Shah – CEO of Quaid e Azam Solar Co.
Buksh Foundation is one of the most proactive not for profit organization of Pakistan which is leading the industry and setting up industry trends for meeting the renewable energy demand in the off-grid rural areas, as well as partially electrified areas of the country, to bring about socio-economic changes.
The renewable and alternate energy consultants at the workshop, discussed and gave an overview of existing renewable energy solutions in off-grid areas of Nepal, Bangladesh, India and how the successful models in these countries be emulated in Pakistan.
Alfredo Baño – Energy Consultant at the Asian Development Bank in his presentation discussed the Punjab Energy Access Assessment, where he discussed the current energy access situation in the province and the surveys conducted by Mr. Bano. According to his findings, there is lack of basic infrastructure and grid extension for rural electrification is too costly. He also found that the Rural consumers pay higher costs per energy-unit, than urban ones. Rural un-electrified areas are an untapped market and private sector businesses can enter into this arena profitably while banking on these projects.
Fiza Farhan – CEO Buksh Foundation (BF) also discussed how BF has tapped the rural off-grid areas of Pakistan through impact investment and the various projects that have been implemented for providing rural electrification through “Lighting A Million Lives” (LaML) Project, which has created multifold benefits. She discussed the successful business models of BF and how ADB and BF can collaborate to bring innovation in the clean energy finance industry through the LaML Project and Micro Grids Projects for the underprivileged areas, with little or no access to electricity.
Buksh Foundation has laid the fundamental concepts in the alternate energy sector of the Country to bring about change in the lives of the underprivileged through catalyzing investments. Foundation has collaborated with private and public sector donors and partners, working with national and international governments and organizations, for scaling up projects and bringing attention towards the national issue – The lack of access to electricity and basic necessities of life.
